Author Topic: On Bewitched  (Read 28409 times)

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #50 on: October 28, 2013, 12:31:51 pm »
Exactly, and there are no dumb characters, although I think American comedy writers are getting away from dumb characters like Rose on "Golden Girls."  But the couple in "As Time Goes By" seem a bit stand-offish to me.  Or am I judging them by American standards or just my own?  Or perhaps they're too old?  Or is this off topic?  ;D

Well, but remember their history--I'm assuming you mean Jean and Lionel--how they lost contact during the Korean War because of a letter that miscarried. I'd be a bit standoffish, too, I think.

And then again maybe it's just because they're British. ...  8)
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Luvlylittlewing

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #51 on: October 28, 2013, 07:46:55 pm »
Well, but remember their history--I'm assuming you mean Jean and Lionel--how they lost contact during the Korean War because of a letter that miscarried. I'd be a bit standoffish, too, I think.

And then again maybe it's just because they're British. ...  8)

I think its because they're British!  :D

Offline serious crayons

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #52 on: October 29, 2013, 09:47:15 am »
Justified has merited a lot of coverage in TV Guide since it first debuted. I've read all the coverage, so, again, odd as it may seem, there really wasn't anything in your description that I really wasn't already aware of. That's how I know about Margot Martindale, from reading about the show in TV Guide. I guess Justified made her into another one of those overnight sensations who's actually been around for years in anonymous/supporting character roles. I ought to check her filmography at IMDb.

Sorry, I should have guessed that from your MM reference. Yeah, I recognized her at once when she appeared on Justified, though I hadn't known her name before that. She's a very familiar character actor. The only specific role I can recall without looking her up was as Hilary Swank's trailer-trashy mother in Million Dollar Baby.

OK, I do tend to get obsessed about these things. ...

In the link below is a very brief mention of what I vaguely remembered about a possible basis in history for Here Come the Brides. I intend to do some more research, but supposedly--at least, according to the National Park Service, a man named Asa Mercer, apparently the first president of the Washington Territorial University, brought a group of 11 marriageable young women to Seattle in 1864, and another group of 34 in 1866. They are known as "the Mercer Girls."

http://www.nps.gov/klse/historyculture/index.htm

Edit to Add:

OK, once I knew what to Google, that didn't take long. Here's the Wikipedia article on the Mercer Girls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercer_Girls

Kind of a sad tale about the one woman who didn't get married right away (besides the one who died) because she was "old" at 35. I got married when I was 36!

Here I'd assumed that HCtB was based on a historical whorehouse. But of course "marriageable," in those days, meant not only young but "not a whore."

Now, though, I have to reinstate my insistence that you try Deadwood. I'm always telling people to watch Justified, but I know it's not for everybody, and aside from TO I'm not sure it would necessarily be your cup of tea. Deadwood, however, at least as I understand it, follows fairly closely the actual historical records. So someone like you, interested in history and the West (and again, TO!), I think would find it quite interesting.

The only problem with the series is that it just sort of ends after three seasons, with all sorts of unresolved plot points. It was supposed to continue for a couple more seasons, but HBO canceled it. However, I read somewhere that might be for the best, because the real Deadwood was burned to the ground at some point not long after the events portrayed in the series, which would be sort of a bummer as a TV-series ending.



Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #53 on: October 29, 2013, 11:24:35 am »
Kind of a sad tale about the one woman who didn't get married right away (besides the one who died) because she was "old" at 35. I got married when I was 36!

Check this out, though. Elizabeth Ordway apparently had quite a career as a teacher and a women's rights advocate, appearing with no less than Susan B. Anthony herself!

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Seattle-at-150-Ordway-the-unwed-Mercer-Girl-1068916.php

Quote
Here I'd assumed that HCtB was based on a historical whorehouse. But of course "marriageable," in those days, meant not only young but "not a whore."

I think that was a logical assumption--especially when I came across articles about a rather colorful early Seattle resident named Dr. David Swinson Maynard, who apparently thought the town needed a good whore house!  :o

Quote
The only problem with the series [Deadwood] is that it just sort of ends after three seasons, with all sorts of unresolved plot points. It was supposed to continue for a couple more seasons, but HBO canceled it. However, I read somewhere that might be for the best, because the real Deadwood was burned to the ground at some point not long after the events portrayed in the series, which would be sort of a bummer as a TV-series ending.

That's how they ended the second season of Hell on Wheels, with much of the town burned to the ground. Plus they killed off the leading lady. Talk about a bummer of a season ending!
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #54 on: October 29, 2013, 01:16:49 pm »
That's how they ended the second season of Hell on Wheels, with much of the town burned to the ground. Plus they killed off the leading lady. Talk about a bummer of a season ending!

They're getting kind of carried away with that kill-off-a-lead-character approach, I think. That used to be so unheard of (you probably already know this, but actors in small roles on action shows are called "redshirts" after the red shirts worn by lower-rank Star Trek personnel -- whenever a team from the Enterprise headed down to investigate a risky planet, you knew these anonymous actors would die and our heroes would live). When the trend of major characters dying first started (in 24, maybe?) it was novel. But now it's just another way to stir up publicity and interest, the way old TV shows used to use pregnancy. The Walking Dead has killed off way more than half its main characters. (Note to The Walking Dead writing team: If you kill off Daryl, I'm out.)

I'd never watched Game of Thrones, but one day on Twitter and Facebook I saw people posting things like, "OMG, I wish I'd never watched this show!" Sure enough, I learned that a huge slaughter had killed a bunch of main characters. Since then I've seen a couple of episodes but now I know not to get too attached to anyone. But I didn't get that into it anyway, mainly because I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.



Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #55 on: October 29, 2013, 01:41:01 pm »
Actually, I didn't know that about "redshirts." That was interesting. By the time Star Trek finished its run, I bet they had killed off the equivalent of an entire starship crew. And of course, on Bonanza, any woman who fell in love with a Cartwright was immediately doomed, and I'm glad I wasn't related to Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote), because if she came to visit, you could depend on being accused of murder.  ;D

There was actually a certain logic to killing off the leading lady in Hell On Wheels. It was pretty clear that there wasn't anywhere else to go with her character's story line except for her to hang around to have sex with Bohannen, the lead. So she had to go. Still, she was British, so they could have sent her back to England, or something.  :(
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #56 on: November 05, 2013, 01:00:31 pm »
I was thinking about the special appeal of Samantha on Bewitched during a lull in my sleeping last night. (Due to waiting for new carpeting, I am currently sleeping in the basement close to the furnace which comes on every once in a while and wakes me up.) It's simple, when you think about it...Samantha belongs to a secret society that is often vilified and she has differences that are not visible. She tries to fit in but her uniqueness often trips her up. Watching her try to navigate through an ignorant and hostile world is both amusing and heartbreaking at the same time. And even Darrin, who tries to be a suit and fit in with the world, really doesn't. After all, he fell in love with and married Samantha.
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Offline serious crayons

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #57 on: November 05, 2013, 07:44:27 pm »
It's funny how you and I read its subtext so differently, yet both are completely reasonable interpretations. Bewitched: the Rorschach test of '60s sitcoms.  :laugh:



Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #58 on: November 05, 2013, 09:59:30 pm »
Bewitched: the Rorschach test of '60s sitcoms.  :laugh:

 :laugh:
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: On Bewitched
« Reply #59 on: November 06, 2013, 10:03:00 am »
Interesting, Katherine...I'd like to hear more about how you view the subtext.

... even Darrin, who tries to be a suit and fit in with the world, really doesn't. After all, he fell in love with and married Samantha.

I wonder if there was ever an episode where Darrin actually went with his instincts and was true to himself, and how that turned out.

I was thinking about the special appeal of Samantha on Bewitched during a lull in my sleeping last night. (Due to waiting for new carpeting, I am currently sleeping in the basement close to the furnace which comes on every once in a while and wakes me up.)
So, during my sleep lull last night, I was checking to see if I could really wriggle my nose as Samantha Stevens did so well! I could only flare my nostrils a little. Later, the kitty came up to my face and blew her tiny breath onto my cheeks and began licking gently, and I realized I had been crying in my sleep.  :'(
"chewing gum and duct tape"